To me Jim MacKenzie was BIG JIM, because to me, he was larger than life. With a personality most couldn’t rival and one of the best friends I have ever had. His handshake, the way he hugged me, his voice, his smile, and his presence were something I will never forget.
I hate dwell on the fact that he is gone but instead, remember the great times he gave me.
Me & Jim, I felt, were like something better than brothers. I’d do anything for him and I know he would do the same. There were so many times Jim helped me out. All I had to do was ask, and there were many times I didn’t even have to do that.
There were a few times that my piece of shit bikes broke down – all I had to do was call and Jim was there. My throttle cable snapped and Jim came, picked me up, drove me 45 miles to my house. We drank beers, ate steaks and watched a movie until 2 am. I could care less about that piece of shit bike – it was just great to hang with my friend.
I got to experience so many cool things with Big Jim. Like riding to Ignacio. It was beautiful in the morning, but then just pouring rain the last half of the trip. Fuckin’ Jim didn’t bring a jacket, gloves, or anything. I brought a jacket, gloves, leather pants, helmet, so it didn’t bother me much at all. But Jim was a bad-ass, he hung with me and we left everyone else behind – including my old lady. But the cool thing was we got to bar-hop the whole way there since we were so far ahead of everyone else. Thanks to Jim and his big personality we got to meet a lot of cool people on the way. The cool thing about Jim is that he was such a positive individual, I never heard him bitch. It was all good times whenever I was with him.
We had the same musical taste. Went to a lot of great shows. The Railbenders, Iron Maiden, Rush, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Audioslave, and even Overkill in a tiny shithole bar in Aurora where me & Jim jumped in the mosh pit and tore it up, fueled by Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Just being around someone like Jim was something most don’t get to experience. Big Jim had a quality about him that 90% of all people will never have.
My old man used to tell me if you had one true friend in life then you are a rich man. Thanks to Jim and a lot of you, I feel like I am the richest man alive.
When me & Jim used to drink, I would toast to him and say “I’ll see you in Hell”. And Jim used to say “Don’t worry, I’ll already be there and I’ll have your work assignments ready for you ‘cause I’ll be in charge!”
And I believe him.
See you there, Jim – I love you.